Motivation

Transfer rumours

Methodology

My measure of similarity in passing style

I’ve included the selected player’s statistics in both the plots as well to have some reference. I’ve excluded comparisons between the same match since that would lead to the distance between those performances all being 0 instead of telling us about the match to match variation in his game.

One thing to note is that this isn’t an overall similarity of two players but a similarity between the way the two players played in two paritcular matches. Depending on how we choose to go from a many matches to many matches comparison to a one player to one player comparison, we could end up with different conclusions. The many to many that I compare is the closest match that every player had for each of the selected palyer’s performance and look at that distribution. The final list of the players is sorted according to the median of this distribution. Players who have played in various roles that the selected player himself has played in, should have at least one match very similar to each of the selected player’s performances. Players who have played in some subset of roles that the selected player has played in but haven’t had to play in the some of the other roles will have some very similar points when the matches with the similar roles are compared, but also some points farther away for the matches where a similar role wasn’t played in. Either of those cases will affect the value of the median. Another simpler way to compare players would just be look at the lowest distance values they have achieved against any performance of the selected player. I would also like to incorporate the playing style but for sake of simplicity I’m staying away from it for this post. I’ve talked about all of these in an earlier post.

For the concerned player, I’ve also narrowed down to one formation, and one position that they player played most often in during the season. When players play across multiple positions, then the comparison gets diffused between each of the roles that they player played. Within the same formation and the saame position, there are still many details that may vary which is the variation that we will try and understand through this measure, for instance a 4-2-3-1 at Arsenal may have the players playing very differently than a 4-2-3-1 at Burnley and the similarity measure should be able to understand this and and for the same position suggest a different set of players for the two teams.

Results

David Silva

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CM in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as David Silva are - Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Dele Alli (Tottenham), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea), Luis Alberto (Lazio), Paul Pogba (Man Utd), Bersant Celina (Swansea), James Maddison (Leicester), John Fleck (Sheff Utd), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax), Neymar (PSG), Coutinho (Barcelona), Houssem Aouar (Lyon), Karol Linetty (Sampdoria), Arthur (Barcelona), Ilkay Gündogan (Man City), Samuel Moutoussamy (Nantes), Said Benrahma (Brentford), Ross Barkley (Chelsea), André André (Vitoria de Guimaraes), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Rade Krunic (Empoli), Robert Snodgrass (West Ham), Muhamed Besic (Middlesbrough), Jasmin Kurtic (SPAL 2013), Max Kruse (Werder Bremen), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Sergio Agüero

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a FWD in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Sergio Agüero are - Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Alejandro Gómez (Atalanta), Mats Seuntjens (AZ Alkmaar), Marco Stiepermann (Norwich), Neal Maupay (Brentford), Luis Suárez (Barcelona), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), João Carvalho (Nottingham Forest), Gonzalo Higuaín (Chelsea, AC Milan), Joaquín Correa (Lazio), Gerard Deulofeu (Watford), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Eberechi Eze (QPR), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Mark Duffy (Sheff Utd), João Félix (Benfica), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Memphis Depay (Lyon), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Ángel Di María (PSG), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Alan Browne (Preston), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Radja Nainggolan (Inter), James Maddison (Leicester), David McGoldrick (Sheff Utd).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Fernandinho

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CM in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Fernandinho are - Jorginho (Chelsea), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Lucas Leiva (Lazio), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter), Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Borja Valero (Inter), Danilo Pereira (Porto), Francesco Magnanelli (Sassuolo), Fabinho (Liverpool), Marc Roca (Espanyol), Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Tiemoué Bakayoko (AC Milan), Allan (Napoli), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester), Albin Ekdal (Sampdoria), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Fredrik Midtsjø (AZ Alkmaar), Glenn Whelan (Aston Villa), Thiago Alcántara (Bayern), Axel Witsel (Borussia Dortmund), Orel Mangala (Hamburg), Per Skjelbred (Hertha Berlin), Erick Pulgar (Bologna), Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Josh McEachran (Brentford), Marco Verratti (PSG), Idrissa Gueye (Everton).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Kyle Walker

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a RB in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Kyle Walker are - César Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Rafinha (Bayern), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter), Elseid Hysaj (Napoli), Kyle Naughton (Swansea), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg), Jeremiah St. Juste (Feyenoord), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Sherel Floranus (SC Heerenveen), Ignazio Abate (AC Milan), Aissa Mandi (Real Betis), Jacopo Sala (Sampdoria), Denzel Dumfries (PSV Eindhoven), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern), Darijo Srna (Cagliari), Matthew Lowton (Burnley), Fouad Chafik (Dijon), Sean Klaiber (FC Utrecht), Danilo (Man City), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus), André Almeida (Benfica), Ahmed El Mohamady (Aston Villa), Davide Calabria (AC Milan), Theodor Gebre Selassie (Werder Bremen), Dani Alves (PSG), Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax), Juan Foyth (Tottenham), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Empoli), Simone Iacoponi (Parma Calcio 1913).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Kevin De Bruyne

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CM in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Kevin De Bruyne are - Mark Duffy (Sheff Utd), George Byers (Swansea), Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund), Nathan Dyer (Swansea), Marco Stiepermann (Norwich), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Pizzi (Benfica), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Iago Falque (Torino), Hélder Costa (Wolves), Bernardo Silva (Man City), Pedro (Chelsea), Mateusz Klich (Leeds), Emiliano Buendía (Norwich), Roberto Soriano (Bologna, Torino), Kai Havertz (Leverkusen), Sammy Ameobi (Bolton), Alan Judge (Ipswich, Brentford), Sergio Canales (Real Betis), Albert Gudmundsson (AZ Alkmaar), Ollie Watkins (Brentford), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), Paulinho (Portimonense), Jonny Howson (Middlesbrough), David Silva (Man City), Sidney Sam (Bochum), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Valentin Rongier (Nantes), Paulo Dybala (Juventus).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Ilkay Gündogan

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CM in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Ilkay Gündogan are - Houssem Aouar (Lyon), Dele Alli (Tottenham), Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea), David Silva (Man City), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Jasmin Kurtic (SPAL 2013), Paul Pogba (Man Utd), Fabián Ruiz (Napoli), Wendel (Sporting), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Bersant Celina (Swansea), Naby Keita (Liverpool), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Memphis Depay (Lyon), Yacine Brahimi (Porto), Giacomo Bonaventura (AC Milan), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Andrés Guardado (Real Betis), Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven), Mikel Vesga (Leganes), Luis Alberto (Lazio), Jonathan Bamba (Lille), Arthur (Barcelona), Coutinho (Barcelona), Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Alexis Sánchez (Man Utd), Thomas Lemar (Atletico).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Raheem Sterling

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a FWD(R) in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Raheem Sterling are - Serge Gnabry (Bayern), Matteo Politano (Inter), Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord), Suso (AC Milan), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Solly March (Brighton), Jens Toornstra (Feyenoord), Willian (Chelsea), Tom Ince (Stoke), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Bernardo Silva (Man City), Riyad Mahrez (Man City), Jesús Manuel Corona (Porto), Tozé (Vitoria de Guimaraes), Connor Roberts (Swansea), José Callejón (Napoli), Khaled Narey (Hamburg), Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax), Fabián Orellana (Eibar), Nicolas Pepe (Lille), Raphinha (Sporting), Furdjel Narsingh (De Graafschap), Jarrod Bowen (Hull), Bertrand Traoré (Lyon), Hirving Lozano (PSV Eindhoven).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

John Stones

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CB in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as John Stones are - Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea), Daniel Schwaab (PSV Eindhoven), Davinson Sánchez (Tottenham), Mike van der Hoorn (Swansea), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), José Fonte (Lille), Joel Matip (Liverpool), Julian Weigl (Borussia Dortmund), Gustavo Cabral (Celta Vigo), Niklas Süle (Bayern), Mateo Musacchio (AC Milan), Marcelo (Lyon), Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Lorenzo Tonelli (Sampdoria), Christophe Herelle (Nice), Stefan de Vrij (Inter), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Sven van Beek (Feyenoord), Matías Silvestre (Empoli), Eric Botteghin (Feyenoord), Léo Lacroix (Hamburg), Boubacar Kamara (Marseille), Felipe (Porto), Merih Demiral (Sassuolo), Rúben Dias (Benfica), Raúl Albiol (Napoli), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Pantelis Hatzidiakos (AZ Alkmaar), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Riyad Mahrez

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a FWD(R) in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Riyad Mahrez are - Suso (AC Milan), Bernardo Silva (Man City), Matteo Politano (Inter), Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid), Steven Berghuis (Feyenoord), Solly March (Brighton), Bertrand Traoré (Lyon), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Tom Ince (Stoke), Sammy Ameobi (Bolton), Maximilian Eggestein (Werder Bremen), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax), Ryad Boudebouz (Real Betis, Celta Vigo), Serge Gnabry (Bayern), Calvin Stengs (AZ Alkmaar), José Callejón (Napoli), Willian (Chelsea), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Karim Bellarabi (Leverkusen), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Kenny Tete (Lyon), Furdjel Narsingh (De Graafschap), Brais Méndez (Celta Vigo), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Jarrod Bowen (Hull), Tom Barkhuizen (Preston), Joe Lolley (Nottingham Forest), Connor Roberts (Swansea), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Benjamin Mendy

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a LB in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Benjamin Mendy are - Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli), Ludwig Augustinsson (Werder Bremen), Nicola Murru (Sampdoria), Mário Rui (Napoli), Rafa Soares (Vitoria de Guimaraes), Lucas Lima (Nantes), David Alaba (Bayern), Fode Ballo-Toure (Monaco, Lille), Juan Bernat (PSG), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Massimo Gobbi (Parma Calcio 1913), Bakaye Dibassy (Amiens), Kieran Gibbs (West Brom), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Jaume Costa (Villarreal), Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), Adam Smith (Bournemouth), Youssouf Kone (Lille), Ridgeciano Haps (Feyenoord), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Ladislav Krejci (Bologna), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Arthur Masuaku (West Ham), Yuri (Athletic Bilbao), Oussama Haddadi (Dijon), Tin Jedvaj (Leverkusen), Ben Chilwell (Leicester).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Ederson

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a GK in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Ederson are - Tim Krul (Norwich), Alisson (Liverpool), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona), Samir Handanovic (Inter), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Pau López (Real Betis), Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Gerónimo Rulli (Real Sociedad), Alphonse Areola (PSG), Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Walter Benítez (Nice), Mickey van der Hart (PEC Zwolle), Ciprian Tatarusanu (Nantes), Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Leeds), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Léo Jardim (Rio Ave), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea), Yann Sommer (Borussia M.Gladbach), Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Baptiste Reynet (Toulouse), Mike Maignan (Lille), Jack Butland (Stoke), Muriel (Belenenses SAD), Diego Benaglio (Monaco), Emil Audero (Sampdoria), Leopold Zingerle (Paderborn), Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Timo Horn (FC Cologne).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Aymeric Laporte

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CB in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Aymeric Laporte are - Jeremy Mathieu (Sporting), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Nico Elvedi (Borussia M.Gladbach), Nick Viergever (PSV Eindhoven), Dan-Axel Zagadou (Borussia Dortmund), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Niklas Moisander (Werder Bremen), Mats Hummels (Bayern), Joachim Andersen (Sampdoria), Domenico Maietta (Empoli), Maxime Le Marchand (Fulham), Lyanco (Bologna), Wesley Hoedt (Southampton, Celta Vigo), Jérôme Boateng (Bayern), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Sven Bender (Leverkusen), Ben Godfrey (Norwich), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Federico Fazio (Roma), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), David Costas (Celta Vigo), Gianmarco Ferrari (Sassuolo), Teun Koopmeiners (AZ Alkmaar), Milan Skriniar (Inter), Pablo Martinez (Strasbourg), Pedro Henrique (Vitoria de Guimaraes), Jan-Arie van der Heijden (Feyenoord), Benoit Badiashile Mukinayi (Monaco), Fikayo Tomori (Derby).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Bernardo Silva

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a CM in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Bernardo Silva are - Franck Kessié (AC Milan), Emiliano Buendía (Norwich), Brais Méndez (Celta Vigo), N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea), Martin Ødegaard (Vitesse), Denzel Dumfries (PSV Eindhoven), Pablo Sarabia (Sevilla), Dennis Praet (Sampdoria), Simone Missiroli (SPAL 2013), Alexander Mühling (Holstein Kiel), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Pascal Groß (Brighton), Kai Havertz (Leverkusen), Nicolas Pepe (Lille), José Callejón (Napoli), Fabián Ruiz (Napoli), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Albert Gudmundsson (AZ Alkmaar), Harry Wilson (Derby), Otávio (Porto), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Marcel Sabitzer (RasenBallsport Leipzig), Joe Williams (Bolton), Alan Browne (Preston), Ángel Di María (PSG), Ollie Watkins (Brentford), Cuco Martina (Stoke, Feyenoord), Pizzi (Benfica), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -

Leroy Sané

WPlayers in similas passing roles as him when he was playing as a FWD(L) in a 433 -

A good shortlist of players who have played in a similar passing role as Leroy Sané are - Raheem Sterling (Man City), Daniel James (Swansea), Sam Larsson (Feyenoord), Kingsley Coman (Bayern), James McClean (Stoke), Anthony Martial (Man Utd), Harvey Barnes (Leicester, West Brom), Modou Barrow (Reading), Anthony Limbombe (Nantes), Oussama Idrissi (AZ Alkmaar), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace), Nico Schulz (Hoffenheim), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Anwar El Ghazi (Aston Villa), Marc Cucurella (Eibar), Ezgjan Alioski (Leeds), Dwight Gayle (West Brom), Coutinho (Barcelona), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham), Dusan Tadic (Ajax), Arbër Zeneli (SC Heerenveen, Reims), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli), Angeliño (PSV Eindhoven), Jonathan Bamba (Lille), Nathan Redmond (Southampton), Bakery Jatta (Hamburg), Senad Lulic (Lazio), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Max-Alain Gradel (Toulouse).

The details of their distances are below with the player’s distance distributions -